Murder at Ellisdale, 1937
New Jersey Mirror 28 Jul 1937:
Enraged because his wife had bobbed her hair, Joseph Cawley, 55 years old, a laborer, of Ellisdale, shot and severely wounded her on Monday, and then committed suicide with a shotgun.
Mrs. Cawley, 45 years old, and the mother of four grown children, was hurried to Mercer Hospital, Trenton, by her son-in-law, Arthur Grover, of Extonville, where it was found that her right hand had been shot three times, and that she had suffered numerous bruises of her face and body where the enraged husband had kicked her. The argument occurred in front of the Cawley home and was witnessed by neighbors. As told by Mrs. Cawley to Grover, the husband asked her to step outside to discuss the matter. They walked through the yard, talking and arguing when suddenly Mrs. Cawley tripped over a broom that she had been carrying.. Without warning, according to Grover, Cawley pulled a .22-calibre revolver from his pocket, pointed it at her head and pulled the trigger. The shot failed to explode. Struggle for Weapon Mrs. Cawley quickly regained her feet and struggled with her husband for possession of the weapon. In the scuffle he fired three more times, the bullets entering her hand.
As she fell to the ground, according to Grover, Cawley kicked his wife in the head and then in the eye. A neighbor, Mrs. Joseph Forman, who heard the screams for assistance, hurried into the yard but was warned away by Cawley with a threat that he would do the same to her. Mrs. Forman, terrified, turned around and fled. Cawley then walked quickly to a barn in the rear of the house, went up to the haymow, got a shotgun, placed it in position and then pulled the trigger with the aid of a stick. The charge shattered his chest and he died almost instantly. Grover told Coroner Clarence S. Roberts, Jr., of Moorestown, that Mrs. Cawley had spent the week-end at their home in Extonville, and that he took her back to Ellisdale on Monday in order that she could do the family washing. He then went to a nearby farm where he was employed, he said, and it was a short time later that he was informed by a neighbor of what had occurred. He quickly placed her in his car and drove to Trenton. Jealousy Blamed Cawley, said Grover, was intensely jealous of his wife and objected strenuously when she had bobbed her hair some time ago.
Grover said that Cawley possessed three guns, all of which he had carefully oiled and loaded recently. The four children are: Mrs. Mildred Grover, Mrs. Addie Stanhope, of Davis Station; Franklin, of Princeton Junction, and Wilbur , of Ellisdale. Ellisdale is three miles south of Allentown and is on the boundary line of Burlington and Monmouth counties. An investigation was made by Coroner Roberts, Trooper Skok, County Detective Zeller and Mrs. Anna Bading, of the Burlington county prosecutor's office. The body of Cawley was taken to the morgue of Norman Peppler, of Allentown
Enraged because his wife had bobbed her hair, Joseph Cawley, 55 years old, a laborer, of Ellisdale, shot and severely wounded her on Monday, and then committed suicide with a shotgun.
Mrs. Cawley, 45 years old, and the mother of four grown children, was hurried to Mercer Hospital, Trenton, by her son-in-law, Arthur Grover, of Extonville, where it was found that her right hand had been shot three times, and that she had suffered numerous bruises of her face and body where the enraged husband had kicked her. The argument occurred in front of the Cawley home and was witnessed by neighbors. As told by Mrs. Cawley to Grover, the husband asked her to step outside to discuss the matter. They walked through the yard, talking and arguing when suddenly Mrs. Cawley tripped over a broom that she had been carrying.. Without warning, according to Grover, Cawley pulled a .22-calibre revolver from his pocket, pointed it at her head and pulled the trigger. The shot failed to explode. Struggle for Weapon Mrs. Cawley quickly regained her feet and struggled with her husband for possession of the weapon. In the scuffle he fired three more times, the bullets entering her hand.
As she fell to the ground, according to Grover, Cawley kicked his wife in the head and then in the eye. A neighbor, Mrs. Joseph Forman, who heard the screams for assistance, hurried into the yard but was warned away by Cawley with a threat that he would do the same to her. Mrs. Forman, terrified, turned around and fled. Cawley then walked quickly to a barn in the rear of the house, went up to the haymow, got a shotgun, placed it in position and then pulled the trigger with the aid of a stick. The charge shattered his chest and he died almost instantly. Grover told Coroner Clarence S. Roberts, Jr., of Moorestown, that Mrs. Cawley had spent the week-end at their home in Extonville, and that he took her back to Ellisdale on Monday in order that she could do the family washing. He then went to a nearby farm where he was employed, he said, and it was a short time later that he was informed by a neighbor of what had occurred. He quickly placed her in his car and drove to Trenton. Jealousy Blamed Cawley, said Grover, was intensely jealous of his wife and objected strenuously when she had bobbed her hair some time ago.
Grover said that Cawley possessed three guns, all of which he had carefully oiled and loaded recently. The four children are: Mrs. Mildred Grover, Mrs. Addie Stanhope, of Davis Station; Franklin, of Princeton Junction, and Wilbur , of Ellisdale. Ellisdale is three miles south of Allentown and is on the boundary line of Burlington and Monmouth counties. An investigation was made by Coroner Roberts, Trooper Skok, County Detective Zeller and Mrs. Anna Bading, of the Burlington county prosecutor's office. The body of Cawley was taken to the morgue of Norman Peppler, of Allentown
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